Based on the company’s global profit margin of 23 per cent, it is estimated to have raked in an income of £181 million during that year. The real figure it would have owed in taxes based on that calculation is £51 million, the newspaper reported.

But eBay managed to pull off the feat by channelling UK payments through entities in Luxembourg and Switzerland, essentially rerouting revenue raked in by its UK subsidiaries through a European tax haven.

Predictably, the auction site denied any wrongdoing.

“EBay Inc in Europe works with tax authorities and complies fully with all applicable tax laws and regimes – including national and internationally recognised rules,” a spokesperson told the Sunday Times.